Dimapur, Dec. 21: In a relief for chief minister TR Zeliang, the Gauhati High Court Kohima bench in an order dated December 16 last dismissed the petitions filed against him in connection with his alleged false academic affidavits.
The judgement was delivered by Justice MR Pathak, who ruled that both the criminal revision petitions against Zeliang ‘stand dismissed’ as they were devoid of merit.
According to the ruling, it was not the case of the petitioners that ‘the affidavit of the respondent was not displayed by affixing the same at a conspicuous place at his office by the concerned returning officer, Peren in February 2013; before scrutiny of respondent’s nomination papers for the necessary information of the electors of the constituency concerned.’
“But in the cases in hand the affidavit of the respondent was displayed by the returning officer immediately upon receipt of the same for the information of the electors of the constituency, prior to the scrutiny of his nomination papers. “However, the petitioners/complainants were not diligent enough to know the correctness of the educational qualification of the respondent given in his said affidavit with the nomination in February 2013 and but only after coming to know about his actual educational qualification in July and August 2015, they filed the Complaint Petitions involved in the case on 09-11- 2015 and 18-01-2016 respectively,” it ruled.
The court was of the view that the petitioners filed their complaint petitions after the expiry of period of limitation prescribed by Section 468 Code of Criminal Procedure. “Further, in the present case the commencement of the period of limitation to the offender respondent shall start from the date of the offence under Section 469(1Xa) of Code of Criminal Procedure, since the returning officer displayed the said affidavit In the conspicuous place of his office for the electors of the constituency, after filing of the same by the respondent with his nomination, before its scrutiny.”
It stated that the court ‘does not find any valid reason to interfere with the impugned common order’ passed by the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Peren on dated July 29 last. “Accordingly, both the Criminal Revision Petitions being devoid of merit stand dismissed,” it ruled.
The court ruling was not on the academic credentials of Zeliang (whether he graduated or not). The ruling was that since the period of limitation for the petitioners to file the case had expired, the court would not entertain the case.
